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IOC: Solid foundation laid for Beijing Olympics
Inspectors from the International Olympic Commitee say Beijing has laid solid foundations for the success of the 2008 Olympic Games. The remarks were made as they concluded a fourth visit to the host city. The some 20-member IOC's Coordination Commission started their inspection tour on Monday. As well as visiting the sites of some of the future Olympic and Paralympic venues, Commission members also discussed subjects such as budget, transportation, sports, communications, and marketing with the Beijing Organizing Committee. Speaking at a press conference, Verbruggen Hein, the Chairman of the Coordination Commission, says they are very satisfied with Beijing's preparations for the 2008 Games. "We have noticed important progress in many areas. The venue construction is totally on schedule, and will be ready in time." A total of 36 competition venues will be needed for the 2008 Olympics. One third of them will be new buildings. Construction of nine of them, such as the swimming center and shooting range, has already started , and the rest will begin this year. Hein calls Beijing to slow down the construction a bit, to prevent too early completion. The chairman also praises the progress in improvements to the transportation system and the environment. He especially praised the budget planning, calling it an operational budget. "We are very confident that there will be financially positive outcomes because the local marketing is successful; I think we can even say, very successful." Beijing's budget for Olympics preparations is 1,600 million US dollars, with the IOC's contributing half of the money. Hein also said the decision on whether the equestrian event for the 2008 Games can be held in Beijing or Hong Kong will be made within a month. Beijing has proposed Hong Kong as a venue of equestrian event because of its experience in the sport, but the international Equestrian Federation has opposed the switch.
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